AbbVie partners with EvolveImmune to develop Next-Generation cancer treatments

USA— AbbVie has entered into a partnership and option-to-license agreement with EvolveImmune Therapeutics to create innovative biotherapeutics designed to combat cancer more effectively.

 This announcement follows AbbVie’s recent partnership with the Hungarian pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter, which focuses on developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.

The main goal of the new partnership with EvolveImmune is to develop multispecific biologics that target various types of cancer.

A significant challenge in current cancer therapies is that many cancer cells have developed resistance to existing immunotherapies.

The collaboration will leverage EvolveImmune’s proprietary T-cell engager technology, the EVOLVE platform, to address this issue.

This advanced platform utilizes innovative strategies to enhance the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.

EvolveImmune’s EVOLVE platform employs cluster differentiation 2 (CD2) strategies to provide effective T-cell costimulation.

This process aims to enhance the tumor-killing capabilities of T cells, thereby improving the body’s immune response against cancer.

The collaboration’s strategy includes bypassing the challenges of low tumour immunogenicity, essentially, tumours not easily recognised by the immune system, activating adaptive immunity when needed and reducing T-cell dysfunction in solid tumours and blood cancers.

Under the agreement, EvolveImmune will receive US$65 million in upfront fees from AbbVie, along with equity investments.

Moreover, EvolveImmune could earn additional option fees and milestone payments that may reach up to US$1.4 billion, in addition to tiered royalties on future net sales of the developed therapies.

Commenting on the partnership, Jonathon Sedgwick, Ph.D., senior vice president and global head of discovery research at AbbVie, expressed the company’s commitment to advancing cancer treatment.

He stated that AbbVie is dedicated to exploring groundbreaking technologies and therapeutic platforms that can deliver novel treatments for patients facing high unmet medical needs.

He also expressed his enthusiasm for collaborating with the talented team at EvolveImmune to develop their innovative T-cell engager platform further.

Stephen Bloch, M.D., the chief executive officer of EvolveImmune, highlighted the significance of partnering with AbbVie, a recognized leader in oncology.

 He noted that this collaboration offers substantial validation of the EVOLVE platform and the innovative work of the EvolveImmune team.

“We believe that EVOLVE, with its unique CD2 co-stimulation strategy, has the potential to become a next-generation, best-in-class T-cell engager platform, which could provide clinically meaningful benefits for patients,” he stated.

EvolveImmune Therapeutics, based in the U.S., claims to be the first company in its category to develop multifunctional biotherapeutics to overcome cancer-induced immunodeficiency across various tumor types. 

The company is supported by several prominent life science investors, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer Ventures, Solasta Ventures, and Takeda Ventures, which highlights the confidence in its innovative approach to cancer treatment.